Institute of the Black World 21st Century

Founded in 2002 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2007, the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW-21) is committed to building the capacity and power of Black communities in the United States and globally to work for cultural, social, economic and political upliftment; to developing the global Black community; and to enhancing the quality of life for Black people. IBW-21 specializes in functioning as a good faith facilitator and convener that promotes a culture of collaboration to heal and empower Black families, communities, and nations. Its initiatives, which include The Black Family Summit, Criminal Justice Reform Collaboratives, State of the Black World Conferences, Haiti Support Project, Pan African Unity Dialogue, and the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), are illustrative of the collaborative structures that IBW-21 convenes and administers. NAARC, the signature program of IBW-21, is comprised of an assembly of experienced and talented reparations advocates, scholars, socially conscious business and professional leaders, and civil rights, human rights, and faith leaders. Over the last several years, NAARC has been an authoritative voice on reparations issues in the United States and Africa. Its 10-point reparations plan, in particular, has been a frame of reference for public discourse in many contexts. In partnership with the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) and other human rights organizations, it facilitated the strategy group for the H.R.40 process and spent 40 weeks developing an education and public awareness strategy to promote the bill. It also facilitated and certified Evanston’s reparations plans which it hopes to improve and replicate in several cities across the country. This award to support general operations of IBW-21 will strengthen its infrastructure and its efforts to elevate conversations and activities on reparations in the United States and for the global Black diaspora.

The award to the Institute for the Black World 21st Century (IBW-21) supports two projects: the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA) and Reparations United. N’COBRA was established in 1987 and is one of the leading grassroots efforts solely created to win reparations for people of African descent in America. In addition to national efforts, N'COBRA has taken the lead in theorizing the foundational elements and organizing actions for local and state level reparations efforts. Reparations United is a non-profit organization headquartered in Chicago. Its mission is to unify various organs within the reparations movement around reparatory justice principles to coalesce a unified demand for, and distribution of reparatory resources at the national and local levels. Under this award, Reparations United is undertaking a national Unity Tour – The Mission, the Mandate, the Method, which speaks to the three most pressing issues within the Movement – advocacy for a federal redress bill via the Executive branch; public education on the role of a federal commission, and strategies for building unity in the reparations movement through grassroots efforts. With the groundswell of interest and current momentum to address reparations, this award supports N’COBRA and Reparations United to continue to lead the reparations movement in the United States and globally.